There are approximately 7.8 billion people in the world. This population is present across continents and countries. Ideally, every individual in this world expects to have the resources, best opportunities, and best lives. But in reality, that is not the case. Everyone cannot get whatever they aspire for, but a basic happy life is everyone’s right.
Unfortunately, there is a wide disparity in the quality of lives across the world. Everyone is not enjoying even the basic rights and amenities of their lives. And the reasons for such differences are many. Some nations are struggling for their sovereignty and independence, as they are either ruled by other countries or cruel dictatorships. Some countries have citizens dying due to hunger and inadequate healthcare. There are stories in the news about some countries where there is no proper education system in place, and people have zero exposure to the outer world.
However, in this adverse picture of conditions around the world, ethically and humanly, it becomes a responsibility of those who are well-fed, well-educated, and well exposed, to come forward as leaders in improving the quality of life of the others around. The elevation of affected communities and nations is mandatory to achieve worldwide prosperity and happiness. Because such social imbalance and disparities, if not catered, will only amplify and can ultimately hamper the quality of lives of people around the world.
Social Leadership is a voluntary avenue, but in such severe circumstances, it becomes a requirement to flatten the curve of adversity in society. One approach to start social work and social service is to get educated about it first. Numerous institutes and universities offer MSW online (Master of Social Work). It provides a basic understanding and relevant strategies to conduct social work in your societies. It is considered a better strategy by experts, instead of trial and error.
To help the sufferers and improve the quality of their lives, people need to come forward as leaders, take the initiative, and solve the issues of the affected and consider their contribution as they would take leadership responsibility in a corporate role. Let’s explore some of the tips that are crucial to becoming better and effective society leaders.
- Empathize with Others:
First and foremost, the basic and one of the crucial skills to do effective work to uplift the society is to empathize with others. Surpassing the sympathy and empathizing with others enables us to think about the issues at their level, and not only about the issue but thinking about the sustainable solution of it. Instead of not knowing at a deeper level, empathy creates our personal and emotional connection with the people and the issue. When leaders are empathic, they put more than 100% effort in eradicating the issue.
- Problem Solving:
The prime responsibility of any leader is to seek solutions and resolve problems of the internal and external stakeholders. For effective problem solving, a leader needs to analyze the problem with a clear head, as it will enable him or her to seek fast decision making. Problem-solving skills also involve critical thinking, brainstorming, piloting or prototyping and executing, etc. to overcome challenges and resolve conflicts. In fact, you may go for coaching sessions and enhance your skillset further.
- Interpersonal Skills:
Nothing can undermine the importance of effective communication and interpersonal skills. The majority of the problems gets ruined or solved with communication. Especially as a leader, it is important to equip with adequate interpersonal skills as the kind of people he/she is serving or interacting with, are emotional and stressed. Therefore, leaders of such societies need to possess skills like active listening to understand their issues, give them a sense of being important and heard, and communicate with them in a calm demeanor to become their alias.
- Organizational Skills:
In addition to groundwork and dealing with people in the field, social leaders need to understand and equip them with organizational skills. Such leaders need to juggle a lot of tasks at the same time. Similarly, they need to keep up with multiple stakeholders at one point, along with time management issues and paperwork too. Such skillset helps them to stay organized, timely deliver, and keep stakeholders satisfied at the same time.
- Self-Awareness:
Every leader in the world needs to be self-aware, as, in leadership positions, you are exposed to many situations and people. And you get multiple feedbacks in the form of results and people’s opinions. If you only fall to such feedbacks, it can trap your judgment and ability. Similarly, in social work, wide exposure gives you much feedbacks. And the best way to clear external noise or to filter in the relevant feedbacks, an individual needs to be aware of himself and evaluate his performance and improve accordingly.
- Persuasion:
The biggest effort and outcome for any leader is to persuade their stakeholders. Whether it is convincing the donors to give you grants or motivate a field worker to keep working hard, or to explain a beneficiary to complete paperwork, or to inspire others to take action, leaders need to persuade every party as per their convenience and demand. And without persuasion skills, every effort would come to a halt if everyone is not convinced enough.
- Distress and Relax:
It sounds contrary to the deep notion of working hard with full heart, but it is a crucial tip for sustainable effectiveness. Becoming a leader and aiming at improving common people’s life provides you inner satisfaction but at the same time, it causes a lot of stress too. Therefore, for any leader, it is important to unwind and get relaxed in his time. Otherwise, it will bring fatigue and demotivation, which ultimately affects the progress of social work. Hence, it is important to leave office work at the workplace and enjoy yourself to compile your energies again for the next venture.
Conclusion:
Leadership comes with a huge responsibility. One of the responsibilities is improving the quality of life. If at once it satisfies your soul, it demands attention, motivation, and lots of energy. Moreover, acquiring the required understanding and possessing competent skills can also make it easier to bring positive change and improve the quality of life in society, and you can become a successful leader.
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